China has reported its economy showed signs of slowing in July as factory output and retail sales slowed while housing prices fell further.

The country could see its potential economic output halved by mid-century amid a flagging birthrate and aging workforce.

Poor data show the limits of Beijing’s wait-and-see approach.

Policymakers are under pressure to roll out more stimulus to revive domestic demand and ward off external shocks to the $19 trillion economy.

China's stands at 84 percent, buoyed by debt-driven growth in the 2010s and a housing market crunch that heavily indebted local governments. London-based global advisory firm Oxford Economics estimates the Chinese economy's potential growth could be cut roughly in half by the 2050s.

Few commodities tell the story of China’s 21st-century economy better than humble cement, and its current output slump illustrates the depth of the nation’s building slowdown after the frenzy of the previous decade.

Chinese search engine company Baidu , on Wednesday reported a drop in second quarter revenue as its core advertising business struggled amid China's economic slowdown, while returns from AI investments remained limited.

But many analysts, both inside and outside China, believe that Beijing continues to fudge its overall growth numbers, in part because officials remain deeply concerned with projecting a rosy image of the economy. China officially reported that its economy grew by 5 percent in 2024, while the US reported only 2.8 percent growth.

China’s role in the Indo-Pacific was defined by its military exports, strategic coercion, infrastructure buildup, and diplomatic maneuvering—shaping regional security outcomes and positioning itself

Top diplomats from Pakistan, China, and Afghanistan are meeting in Kabul for a trilateral summit. The meeting, set for Wednesday, aims to boost political, regional, and economic cooperation.

This essay is an adaptation from Wang’s forthcoming book, Breakneck: China’s Quest to Engineer the Future, which is available August 26, 2025. In cutting off rare-earth magnets, officials in Beijing flexed but one finger.